Follow Your Heart
by YamiHikari2
Summary: Don't expect updates on this for a while, cuz I'm rewriting it, k? Arigato, anyone who reads this.
1. Default Chapter

Follow Your Heart By YamiHikari  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own GW, probably never will. (sobs) All I own here is my writing and my own original character/characters.  
  
Author's Note: I know it's really "Do as your heart tells you", but "Follow your heart" just sounds better to me. No, this isn't one-shot, I just like to take my time writing, so come and check in a month and I might have another chapter up. Keyword: might. I'll yammer on 'bout other stuff at the end, since I know you're all anxious to be getting this over with.  
  
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  
  
She would have to die. She had disgraced her family, her ancestors, her race. Tajima Ryuka, last of the humans, had made up her mind.  
  
She had written a short note to her parents. They would find it far too late, since she would be gone by the time they found it. Her will was with it, not that she had anything to give or friends to give to.  
  
Tajima finished the rites and bowed to the shrine of her ancestors. Then, she raised her arms, placing the blades located midway in the metal armguards on either side of her throat. She closed her eyes, and was about to pull her arms together to end it all when a light took her, and she was gone. [1]  
  
**********  
  
In a room not only lit by ceiling lights, but also by the soft glow of a computer screen, a Chinese youth of about 17 [2] was practicing his swordsmanship. He brought it downwards in a slashing motion, then whipped it around him in a tight circle, narrowly missing an American boy of about the same age.  
  
"Hey, watch the braid, Wu-man!" Duo yelped, moving away from Chang Wufei and his blade.  
  
"My name is Wufei not Wu-man or whatever other ridiculous name that you could come up with," Wufei responded testily. "And if you didn't insist on wearing your hair in that ridiculous manner, you wouldn't have to worry about it."  
  
"He's got a point there."  
  
"Shut up, Trowa, what would you know about hair? Yours is always covering most of your face, so it's not like you can see a damned thing and- Holy." Duo left his sentence unfinished, staring at the shining white light that had suddenly flo0ded the room. He crossed himself nervously.  
  
Everyone else was having a different reaction to the light. Wufei was crouching, sword posed to attack whatever this new thing happened to be. A well-dressed blond was backing away, blue eyes wide. What could be seen of Trowa's face looked faintly surprised but nothing else. Only the youth at the computer did nothing, Prussian blue eyes fixed on the laptop's screen.  
  
The light suddenly disappeared, and left behind a girl of about 16, who dropped to the floor. She sprang up immediately, brushing black hair away from her face. Her gray eyes narrowed.  
  
"Who the hell are you?" she demanded, settling into a fighter's crouch. The blades on her armguards glinted dangerously in the light. Wufei took this as a signal to attack.  
  
Sparks flew as the girl swiftly parried the blow, then hooked one foot around the Chinese boy's leg and brought him to the floor.  
  
She held the blade on her right armguard to his throat. "Answer me, whatever you are. If I don't get any answers, your friend here dies," she added to the rest of the pilots. She lost her grip on Wufei and was knocked to the floor by a swiftly rolled computer chair.  
  
"I don't need your help, Heero, to fight this weak onna," Wufei snarled.  
  
The dark blue eyes glared at him, then switched their gaze to the girl rising from the floor. "Who are you?"  
  
She laughed bitterly, drawing herself up to her full height. "Shape shifter, I know your kind too well. And I also know that there are no other pure-blood humans other than myself and my family.[3] Now DIE!"  
  
The girl lunged at Heero, only to be brought down by Duo and Trowa.  
  
"You fight one of us, you fight us all," Duo grinned.  
  
Heero stepped forward. "You said that there are no other pure-blood humans. That's not true."  
  
She snarled and broke free of Trowa and Duo, lunging at Heero. Quatre's blue eyes widened, then he tackled the girl. She threw him into a wall, one of her blades gashing a light cut on his face. It began to bleed slowly.  
  
Her eyes flickered around the room. "Five of you? I'm surprised you haven't all ganged up on me and killed me yet. But I'm not fool enough to let that happen. I'll come for you, one by one, and one by one, you will all die."  
  
She burst out the door, running through the streets, and disappeared around a corner. Four of the pilots gathered at the doorway. Duo shook his head.  
  
"Damn. If she comes for us one at a time, we're dead."  
  
Wufei glared. "Speak for yourself."  
  
"Well, Mr. I'm-such-a-kickass-fighter, I didn't see you doin' too well yourself, even with a surprise attack."  
  
Wufei looked like he was ready to strangle Duo with his own braid when the beginnings of a fight were interrupted by Quatre slowly pushing himself up from the floor. The blond groaned and wiped away the small stream of blood on his face.  
  
"I don'.feel so good." he mumbled, then pitched forward and collapsed on the floor.  
  
Trowa knelt by his friend and shook him. "Quatre?" He tilted Quatre's face towards him. The light slash had swollen and turned red.  
  
"Poison. Probably from the girl's blades."  
  
They turned to look at Heero. Duo cocked an eyebrow. "Well, what do we do?"  
  
"We go find her." Heero stepped out the door. He paused and looked back over his shoulder. "Coming?"  
  
Duo and Wufei wordlessly followed. Trowa shook his head. "Someone should stay here, just in case."  
  
The other three left.  
Tajima ran through the streets, shoving past the startled townspeople. 'Maybe they were telling the truth, that there really are more pure-blood humans in this world' she thought, ducking into a dark alley. She paused to process clearly what had just happened.  
  
A voice interrupted her. "Running from someone?"  
  
Recent. And new. It was that one they had called "Heero". Without turning to look at him, she responded, "Heero, isn't it? What do you want?"  
  
"To know what poison you use on your blades."  
  
Thrown, Tajima turned. "How do you know I-" Her mind abruptly flashed back to the fight, the blond youth. Could she have.  
  
Her gaze flicked up to meet his. "If you're looking for me, it's obvious you don't have the cure. And it's also obvious you want me to help, now isn't it?"  
  
Her query was met with a curt "If you're going to help, follow me. If not, then you're safe. I swore I would never kill anyone again, if I could help it." He left.  
  
She paused. '"Never kill anyone again"? What kind of a promise is that!?' she thought irately. Nevertheless, she followed.  
  
By the time they had reached the house, Duo and Wufei had returned, and both were looking worried. Trowa was cursing under his breath. All three looked up when Heero entered, girl following. She pulled out a jar from her low-slung belt, unscrewing the top as she walked. Kneeling down next to where Quatre lay, she smeared some of the substance inside onto his cut.  
  
"He'll be fine," she snapped in answer to their questioning glances. "I don't poison innocents without a reason."  
  
None of them looked comforted by that. 'W-without reason?' Duo thought. 'Does that mean she's actually poisoned innocent people?!' He shuddered involuntarily. Even as a Gundam pilot, the idea of killing the blameless appalled him.  
  
Tajima sighed, suddenly tired. Part of the ritual to kill oneself was over a week of fasting, a.k.a. starving yourself until you're "pure". She rose from the floor and moved towards the door.  
  
"Where do you think you're going?" Trowa's voice was cold and harsh. The others looked at him in surprise. His normally expressionless green eyes were hard with barely contained fury. "We don't know if we can trust you yet. You're staying here until we know for sure that you weren't lying when you said you didn't slaughter the innocent without reason."  
  
Her temper flared. "As the last of my race, you can have my word on it. I do not lie to those who do not lie to me." She tilted her head very slightly to one side. A mocking smirk was on her face. "Have you lied to me?" As he opened his mouth to reply with some scathing remark, she interrupted, "I thought not."  
  
A soft voice stopped either of them from saying anymore. "I'm fine, so calm down, Trowa." Quatre's blue eyes fixed on Tajima. He smiled kindly. "You can stay here for the night, if you want, and go to wherever you want tomorrow, in the morning."  
  
Her gaze dropped to the floor. In truth, she didn't even know where she was, never mind where she was going. Mistaking this as a silent plea for more time, Quatre added, "Of course, you're welcome to stay as long as you want."  
  
'Hell, what I want to do is leave right now,' Tajima thought to herself. But not knowing of this new place and going out alone could prove hazardous, so the best thing to do would be to stay. She sighed mentally, outwardly composed and blank. "I'm only staying for tonight. Then I'm leaving."  
  
Exiting the room, she felt her way along the wall of the dark hallway. When she reached a spot where the light of the other room could no longer be seen, she curled against the wall and went to sleep.  
  
"So, who exactly is she?"  
  
"How the hell am I supposed to know?!" Wufei snapped. "I'm not the one who found her and thus did NOT have a chance to ask her anything."  
  
"She didn't tell me anything," Heero commented. "Apparently, she thinks we aren't human."  
  
"Did you even ASK?" Duo shut up after Heero glared at him. He grumbled. "Geez, I was just asking."  
  
"There were more pressing matters at hand then just asking someone their name."  
  
Trowa did not look pleased at Quatre's decision to let her stay. "What if she kills us all? She did say that she would come for us, one by one."  
  
"She won't."  
  
This earned Heero a couple of odd looks. "And HOW do you know she won't?" Duo looked doubtful.  
  
"She has a code of honor. Killing us while we're sleeping will undoubtedly break her code, and she's not the kind of person to do that." There was a faint, almost undetectable 'just-how-stupid-are-you?' tone in his voice.  
  
"Well, excuuuuuse me for being a mere mortal!" Duo exclaimed sarcastically, catching the tone.  
  
"A woman having a code of honor?" Wufei asked incredulously. "Not likely."  
  
Quatre was looking from face to face in confusion. "So. what exactly happened?" Then he checked his watch as everyone supplied their own version of the story, which escalated into a heated argument. Rather, Heero and Trowa stood watching as Wufei and Duo argued. He raised his voice slightly. "Hey guys, you can tell me the story later. We should go to sleep."  
  
Wufei and Duo broke off their argument. Duo looked slightly sheepish. "Yeah. shoulda kept track of the time."  
  
Wufei mumbled something. Quatre got up from the floor where he had been sitting for the past ten minutes. "See everyone in the morning."  
  
They all left the room, each pilot to their respective room. None of them noticed the figure on the floor in the dark hallway.  
  
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  
[1]- Doesn't that remind you of Escaflowne? Suicidal girl gets transported to a different world/time period. I don't own that either!  
  
[2]- Yeah, this takes place AFTER Endless Waltz, but for the story's sake, I'll have to change some things. You'll see the changes later.  
  
[3]- Again, the entire different time period thing. She comes from a world were magic rules, and the entire "Only the strongest survive", so her world has been overrun by vamps, shape-shifters, so on, all trying to wipe out the humans. As a result, they don't really even know if there ARE any other humans beside themselves, so it's just an assumption on her part, which also explains the confusion in the alleyway. Ha, put THAT in your pipe and SMOKE IT, Wufei! Women are NOT WEAK!  
Author's Note: Heh, that sucked, didn't it? I've written better. I was gonna do it differently, but I didn't know enough about loosing blood and blood transfusions and stuff like that. That threw quite a bit of the story outta whack. Questions? Comments? If there are flames that I think are illogical, then I WILL flame back. I'm warning all flamers now, so don't blame me. If the flame actually DOES have a good point, then I might not delete it or flame back. And I just noticed something. Tajima Ryuka reminds me of Turquoise Draka. Um, that's the main character in Midnight Predator by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. Great book, incidentally, and great author. And I don't own that either. 


	2. Follow Your Heart, chapter 2

Follow Your Heart By YamiHikari  
  
Disclaimer- The standard disclaimer applies. Don't own nothing except for my original character/characters.  
  
Author's Note- I'll eventually get a complete character design of Tajima Ryuka up. I just need to draw one good enough and get my scanner to cooperate. Dumb thing. I swear, it's possessed! Anyway, on to the next chapter!  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
Tajima's eyes slowly opened, automatically adjusting to the darkness of the hallway. She went back over the past events and lay there in the dark, reflecting and going over all her options. Finally, she decided. This hadn't been done in over a century, mostly because the pure humans had decreased in number. However, if they said was true, there were more here, wherever this was, even if it was the past. If it was the past, then best to die before she interfered. Perhaps it was that she was here that had caused most of the humans to die out. Still, she hesitated.  
  
'It would have been nice,' she mused, 'to be part of a society where you didn't have to watch your back for vamps, shape shifters, and haunts. But that's not the point.'  
  
Drawing a sharp silver blade from her belt, she carefully recited to rules in her mind. 'Right side is longer, more painful. Don't go for the left, always for the right so your enemies will never know you took the quick and easy coward's way out, unless you want to hit right above the heart. Five[1], this is going to hurt.'  
  
She placed the blade on the left side, above her heart. She whispered a short incantation of her sect, 01 - Perfection [2]. Gritting her teeth, Tajima drew what she believed was one of her last breaths. Then, she drove the knife through, gasping from the pain, and waited for Death.  
  
Heero sat up in bed. He had forgotten something, but what? Silently rising, he opened his door and walked down the hallway. Labored breathing to his right caught his attention. A figure was bent over, trying to suppress the sound. Kneeling down, he saw it was the girl. Barely a second later, Heero saw the knife handle in her hands and the trickle of blood running down her shirt.  
  
"God," he said softly, "what did you do?"  
  
He pried her hands away from the handle and slowly drew the knife out. Blood began flooding in dark rivers down. Ripping the sleeve from his shirt, he staunched the flow. She glared at him.  
  
"Don't interfere," she snarled roughly, voice shaking with the suppressed pain. She tried to push his hand away.  
  
He pressed harder and the river slowed to a stream. "Duo, Quatre, Wufei." he called down the corridor, and paused, not sure if he should call Trowa as well. Four doors opened, Trowa having woken as well as the others Heero had called.  
  
Duo yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he walked down. "What's the- Holy shit," he exclaimed, stopping dead in his tracks as he saw the bloody knife in the hallway. "What the hell happened?"  
  
"Mind your own goddamn business," she snapped back at him.  
  
"No one's going to hurt you." Quatre said quietly, "so rel-"  
  
"I'd like to see anyone try. If they do, either they or myself will die." Another shining blade appeared in her hand and she swiftly brought it around to exactly where her heart was, intent on finishing the job when another hand grabbed her wrist.  
  
She looked up, and Prussian blue eyes gazed into her own. "Life isn't so cheap that you can throw it away on whim," Heero said softly.[3]  
  
Glaring at him, she hissed, "Well, mine is."  
  
"Hello? ... Yes, at the Winner residence. .. You'll send an ambulance right away? Thank you." Quatre hung up the phone. Turning to the rest of the pilots, he told them, "The ambulance ought to be here in about five minutes."  
  
Wufei hmphed. "Isn't that just like a woman, trying to commit suicide and failing."  
  
"Listen to me, Man, staring Death in the face as it takes you is honorable, not just taking the coward's way out and simply killing yourself in less than a minute."  
  
The Chinese youth's fists clenched. "What did you say?"  
  
"I said that staring Death in the face as it takes you is braver than just glimpsing it as you die, jackass. Are you deaf as well as ignorant?"  
  
His voice rose as he replied. "Who are you, to be telling me what is brave and honorable?"  
  
Tajima's own voice, hoarse with the barely concealed pain, rose to match his. "Someone who is obviously stronger than you, coward!" She spat the word out.  
  
Duo whistled. "I never thought I'd see the day."  
  
Trowa watched, cold anger slowly dissipating. 'She's barely our age,' he observed, 'and yet she's evidently been through training harsher than ours and possibly since she was born.'  
  
The wail of a siren brought everyone back to the girl's present state. Her head snapped up, and she tried to rise. This movement cost more than it seemed, for the blood flooded down her shirt again. Sensing she was about to pass out, Heero urgently took her by the shoulders. "What's your name?"  
  
A sardonic grin twisted one side of her mouth. Like she was going to tell them. "Make one up." The world faded to black.  
  
Two medics rushed up with a stretcher. "What happened here?!" demanded one of them.  
  
The other viewed the scene with an experienced look. He placed a hand on his partner's shoulder. "Dave, calm down. Looks like attempted suicide. These boys didn't do anything." He turned to the pilots. "Say, what's the girl's name?"  
  
"Umm." They all exchanged glances.  
  
Dave got a closer look at Wufei, and suddenly exclaimed, "Hey, I know you! You're the preventer that works with Sally Po! Want to get the girl to her?"  
  
Much relieved, they nodded. Tajima was loaded onto the stretcher and the ambulance sped into the night, siren screaming a warning to oncoming traffic.  
Sally bent over her computer. "My God." she breathed. "She's got nearly the same physiology as Heero." She carefully tapped more keys, and frowned thoughtfully. Her eyes widened as she saw the amount of blood the girl had lost. It was already enough to have killed an average adult. Turning her head she called, "Get type O, universal donor!"  
  
A nurse came running with the precious blood. "Here, Doctor Po," she panted.  
  
Sally walked down to where the dark-haired girl lay strapped in much the same manner as pilot 01 had been over a year before, calling instructions out to a team of ready subordinates.  
  
She paused for a moment, and murmured, "I hope to God that she'll make it through the night."  
* * * * * * * *  
[1]- Anything about that number seem familiar? Hmmm.. Oh, and that right there are some. I guess you could say they're a group of gods/goddesses that she calls on. No, I will not give it away, I REFUSE to give away my little secret plot here.  
  
[2]- What about that seems VERY familiar?  
  
[3]- This is a way of showing their growing out of old ideas and adopting new. I'll be showing other examples of this later.  
  
Author's Note: Heh, short chappie, eh? My thanks goes to Lorimlowe2 and Divine Guardian who both reviewed, otherwise I wouldn'ta felt like getting this chapter out so fast. Arigato! But I'm so evil, it's another cliff- hanger. Hehehe, gomen. (dodges flying objects) I SAID "GOMEN"!! And the next chapter should be out a little later, okie? Be patient with me, I keep hittin' these lousy writer's blocks. Ja! 


	3. Follow Your Heart, chapter 3

Follow Your Heart By YamiHikari  
Disclaimer: I already said I don't own anything! Cut me some slack, people! Joking, joking. Well, I do own my original character/characters, so technically, I do own something. And I already typed this up, so maybe I should just tell you to read the first two chapters.  
  
Author's Note: Huh, how can I write such dark stuff? Though it isn't as dark as the stuff I found on a site I accidentally blundered into. It was scary.(trails off, staring into space) Oh, and for scene shifts, I'll use this: ~, right in the center of the page. ^_^ They're so fun! ~~~~~~~~~~~~ (gets whacked) Owwwwwiiiieee..  
* * * * * * * * * *  
12:30 AM  
  
The team of doctors and nurses worked for the rest of the night, desperately trying to keep the life in the body of Tajima Ryuka. They paused often for quick prayers to what god or gods they had, though they were sure she would die within the hour.  
~  
Gray eyes opened to a world without color. Tajima scanned the rather flat horizon, calm and ready for peace at last. She sensed rather than heard the arrival of someone behind her. Turning, she was met with a recognizable face, one of the five others in the world she suspected she had died in. But he had the cloak of Death, as well as the trademark blazing scythe. He raised it to strike and she waited for the final blow.  
~  
2:45 AM  
  
The machine let out a long beep that went on unstopped.  
  
"Shit! We've lost her!"  
  
Sally wiped perspiration off her forehead. "Not yet, we haven't," she said grimly.  
  
They went back to work, all but Sally feeling that it was useless.  
~  
Time slowed, and another figure stepped in and parried the blow with the blazing sword that was the insignia of her sect, 01 - Perfection. Surprise showed in Death's eyes, no longer colorless, but violet. Then he bowed his head in acknowledgement and vanished. The second figure turned to face Tajima and she was engulfed in the hue of his eyes. She felt herself being drawn back to the glow of Life.  
~  
5:00 AM  
  
A machine bleeped and the exhausted doctors stared in amazement. "My God," one mumbled hoarsely, "she's still alive."  
  
Sally lost no time. "Transport her to intensive care ward, make sure that all visitors meet with me beforehand."  
  
"Yes ma'am!" After carefully loading her onto a stretcher, she was wheeled down the hall and to a new room.  
~  
"We're here to see a patient."  
  
Heero and the others waited patiently as the receptionist poised her fingers over the keyboard. "Name?" she asked.  
  
"Well-"  
  
"We don't think anyone knows her name," Duo interrupted.  
  
The girl's expression cleared. "Oh, her. Yeah, she's in really bad shape. The doctors say it's a miracle she made it through the night. I'll send a message to Sally, so please wait for a moment." She picked up a phone. "Doctor Po? Yes, there are people trying to see the new patient. ." Turning to the pilots, she asked, "Names?"  
  
Wufei suddenly snapped, "Listen up, woman, we don't have all day! She should know who we are, who else would try to visit a patient no one else knows about!?"  
  
They all heard laughter from the phone, though the person laughing sounded fatigued. The girl listened, then nodded. "Okay, you're clear. Go right ahead, Doctor Po says she'll meet you there. She's got some questions she wants to ask you anyway. It's Room 1247[1]."  
~  
After some confusion with the signs, which resulted in the pilots getting lost for a little, they finally reached the room.  
  
"Maxwell, remind us to never listen to you again."  
  
"It's not my fault the signs are so damn confusing!"  
  
Sally stepped forward, effectively preventing the would-be argument. "I'll need to ask you to be quiet. Your friend in there's lost enough blood to kill your average person." The way she said average implied that she knew someone else who could also have survived that loss.  
  
Tajima opened her eyes to be met with sunlight and color. Her gaze focused on the group just coming in, especially on Duo and Heero. She smiled slightly, finally able to piece everything together. "It all fits so perfectly. I should have seen before."  
  
Last entering the room, Sally started in surprise, then regained her composure. "I didn't know you were awake. You shouldn't be talking."  
  
Tajima shifted slightly, then glanced sharply down at her arms, bare except for the IV needle. She looked up and stared steadily into Sally's eyes. "You took them, didn't you?" The pilots saw faint panic rising in her eyes, then it being shoved away. "No matter. I know who I'm with now."  
  
"I don't believe anyone's introduced us, so how could you know?"  
  
Another slight smile. "You're the Five. The five Ghunda Pylots[2]." As they stared blankly in shock, she languidly raised a hand and pointed to each of them in turn. "Perfection, Death, Mystery, Compassion, and Justice, am I right? Each in turn the god of one of the sects, 01, 02, 03, 04, and 05."  
  
Duo's eyes cleared. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. we're not gods!" he protested[3]. "We're human, just like everyone else!"  
  
Tajima shook her head slowly. "I saw you as Death. Death gives way to Perfection." Her gaze switched to Heero. "You're the god of my sect." The deliberate and slight inclination of her head seemed to be much more than that one simple gesture. "You brought me back. I thank you."  
  
Heero crossed his arms, startled but not willing to show it. "I'm not a god," he stated flatly. "None of us are gods, just ordinary humans, like Duo said."  
  
"You mean Death." Her voice had gotten softer, close to inaudible. Looking closer, the others saw she was half asleep.  
  
"Out," Sally ordered firmly. "The girl needs her rest and you can visit her later when she's recovered."  
  
The five pilots trooped out obediently.  
* * * * * * * * * *  
[1]- That was my locker number in sixth grade. I just felt like incorporating that in. ^_^  
  
[2]- Gee, now what does that sound like?  
  
[3]- Surprising, especially from Duo. Again, this is a way of showing that they have. matured, grown, adopted new ideas, however you want to term it.  
Author's Note - Thanks to Rocky, who gave me the correct terminology for whatever ward!! THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!! And I should think that Tajima surviving wouldn't be a shock to any of the readers! One of my friends wanted to know if she WAS gonna live! I can't let my OC die in the third chapter of my ficcie! Oh, and I won't be spending a lot of time on her recuperation. Can you say "boring"?! I'm also considering doing a separate companion fic to this on how she adjusts to using, say a computer, a phone, the shower, etc. since I'm in control and I say that she doesn't know what the hell those things are. But I'm not sure, so if you want to send me your opinion in an e-mail me or say it in a review, go right ahead. Ja! 


	4. Follow Your Heart, chapter 4

Follow Your Heart  
by YamiHikari  
  
Disclaimer- Again, I don't own anything but my original character or characters later, so don't sue.  
  
Author's Note- Well well, seems I've lured more people into my little evil cliffhanger plot. BWAHAHA- erm, never mind. I'm thinking about having you people choose the end, like, send me an e-mail or say it in a review. Keyword: thinking. I'm not really sure, so don't get your hopes up. on with the darn story!  
  
- - - - - - - - - -  
  
Two weeks after she had been admitted into the hospital, Tajima was released. Quatre had offered to let her stay with him, and he could hear her complaints and the weary but persistent nurse valiantly trying to keep her in the wheelchair as hospital policy required.  
  
"Let. Me. Out. Of. This. Thing."  
  
"I'm afraid that's not possible, it's a wheelchair, and would you please stay in the chair?"  
  
Thud.  
  
"Next time, I'll tie you down!"  
  
Duo grinned. The rest of the pilots, excluding Trowa as he had left earlier to practice his act for the circus, had come with Quatre. "Poor girl."  
  
"The nurse or Tajima?" Quatre asked him.  
  
"The nurse, obviously," was the reply, accompanied by a chuckle and a nod in her general direction. "I'd hate to be in her shoes."  
  
"Get back here!" A panicked yell made everyone turn in that direction. Tajima had abandoned the wheelchair and was carefully walking towards the waiting limousine.  
  
She raised an eyebrow. "A limo?"  
  
The nurse came racing up with the empty wheelchair, pushing so her escapee fell back into the seat.  
  
The unwilling patient twisted around to glare at the nurse, who steered her the last foot to the sleek black limo. "She's all yours now," the nurse said with some relief.  
  
"Finally," Tajima grumbled. She easily got off the wheelchair and slid in the limo.  
  
The nurse leaned down for one last warning. "Don't push it too hard. You're still recovering."  
  
"Shut up."  
  
Used to her patient's moods, the other laughed. "You forgot these," she said, handing Tajima her armguards and headed back towards the hospital.  
  
The four pilots got into the limousine as well, Wufei sitting as far away from Tajima as the available space allowed. Duo was in the middle of the seat, facing her, the better to talk and maybe even annoy, Quatre next to him and leaving Heero next to her. A slightly tense silence ensued, broken by Duo.  
  
"You said that we're gods in your time. Uh, how's this possible and what's the story behind it?"  
  
Another silence followed the question. Tajima slipped her armguards back on thoughtfully; they felt almost foreign after their long absence. After five minutes, during which the limo began to head back to the Winner's mansion, she answered slowly, "I'll tell you later."  
  
The American pilot hmphed, slightly put-out that his question had not been answered immediately. He recovered from it fairly quickly though, and asked another question. "What're those made of?" He pointed at the armguards.  
  
She shrugged. "It's been so long since anyone knew. It's rumored that they are made from the remnants of the Ghundas."  
  
The four others stared in shock. Their ride pulled up into the driveway of the mansion, and as the fact that they had slowly registered, the group piled out. Quatre, ever the polite aristocrat, offered a helping hand to Tajima. She ignored it and got out unaided. Then nearly tripped over her own feet as she was slightly disoriented from not being able to move for the past two weeks. Luckily, Quatre hadn't withdrawn his hand and was able to keep her from falling flat on her face. When she had regained her balance, Tajima muttered something profane under her breath.  
  
Duo burst out laughing when he managed to catch the gist of it. Quatre looked confused. "What happened?"  
  
Tajima cut in smoothly as Duo opened his mouth. "You don't want to know," she said, adding a glare in Duo's direction as she straightened, implying that what she really meant was 'you don't want to know what will happen if you repeat just one word of what I said'.  
  
Duo gulped, and kept quiet. He had learned of her ability to make people very sorry they had said anything she didn't want them to say these past two weeks, even if bedridden. He rubbed the back of his head. 'I swear, that pillow had a brick in it.'  
  
She glanced back at him. "Wimp. I didn't even throw it that hard."  
  
He made a face at her. "Oh shut up." Duo then hastily covered his head as Tajima's hand came near a little too close for comfort. "I'M SORRY!!" The hand withdrew.  
  
"It'd be nice if we could get moving in the next century or two," Wufei snapped.  
  
Heero leaned indifferently against the limo, Prussian blue eyes scanning the sky above. "It's going to rain about five minutes," he remarked softly.  
  
After the others had glanced up at the gray clouds above, they could hear a rumble of thunder in the distance.  
  
After it had stopped, Tajima looked slyly at Duo, with whom she had developed an "I-can-do-anything-you-can-do-better" relationship. "Bet I can get to the door before you get within ten feet of it."  
  
He glanced at the door, which was no more than twenty feet away. "Yeah right. You're on!"  
  
As he started to run, she dropped to the ground and tripped him. Then she set off at an easy sprint that took her to the door in as much time as it took Duo to get up and yell indignant comments in which "cheater" was repeated many times. It also took as much time for him to do that as it did the three other pilots to simply walk the distance.  
  
The door was opened by a dignified butler who stepped respectfully out of the way. "Welcome back, Master Quatre," he murmured. "How many should we expect for dinner?"  
  
"Uh." Quatre looked over his shoulder. "Just tell the maids to only set the table for five"  
  
"Very good, sir." The butler bowed and glided away to navigate the long hallways and notify the kitchens.  
  
Duo started jogging over to the group when the heavens parted and let loose a torrent of rain, right on the unfortunate braided American's head. "Aww man!" he complained, and increased his pace from easy jog down the street in the morning to bat out of hell. He smacked into the doorframe, groaned, and made it into the Winner mansion, sopping wet, with a sore nose, and definitely much the worse for the wear. He still managed an expectant grin and a cheerful, "Does anyone know what we're having for dinner?"[1]  
  
After dinner, Quatre remembered that Tajima had been eyeing the many different types of silverware like so much road kill. Sighing mentally, he decided he'd have to teach her various customs since it was more than likely that they would all have to attend something fancy where it was needed. Personally, he didn't really mind and thought it was completely unnecessary. But some person might begin to spread rumors of a guest being uncivilized and it would be a black mark on his name, which could be dangerous in the higher classes, and especially to a former Gundam pilot. 'Or Ghunda Pylot,' he thought wryly. He glanced across the room to meet Tajima's eyes, cold, gray, and calculating. She arched an eyebrow as if to ask what he was thinking. Quatre smiled, and stated, "Remember when you called us gods in your own time?"  
  
After she nodded, he continued, "There must be some sort of legend about us if we were that. Would you mind if-"  
  
"I told it to you?" she finished. "Why not? It's not like I can go anywhere or have anything to do."  
  
"Yes, but would you mind if I recorded it. I think Trowa would want to hear this too."  
  
"Very well then."  
  
After a tape recorder had been procured, the four pilots gathered in a rough circle around her. Quatre pressed "Play" as a voice seeming to come from the years past that they barely managed to recognize as Tajima's filled the room.  
  
The legend  
  
Years, decades, and even centuries ago, there had been something called "peace". People lived alongside each other. Minor battles broke out from time to time, but always, this peace came back to the people.  
  
But there were those who wished to disrupt this peace, and make themselves rulers of all humanity, since humanity dominated at that time. These people began to gradually corrupt the military, and with it, the government. People began to believe their lies, and eventually, they did rule.  
  
Some resisted, though, unhappy under the harsh rule of the Alyance[2]. Mechanical angels were built, with their gods to control them. Wing, Hel[3], enigma, desert noble, and dragon were ruled over by perfection, death, mystery, compassion, and justice. Or yuro, xellod, atrow, nerba, and fein[4]. They came down from the heavens and landed on earth. They fought the alyance, but were soon portrayed as the evil ones, and as thus, the enemy of erda[5]. Their angels were destroyed more than once, but always came back stronger, never completely annihilated. After they seemed to have won peace for the people, a new adversary appeared, the white fangu. The endless dance[6] had to continue, or history and life would disappear with it. War had to come after revolution, which will always come after peace.  
  
The last battle was long and the creators of the angels helped the enemies of the gods to build stronger demons, which were controlled by their own gods[7]. An ancient demon was awakened by merkais[8], which would be called eclyon. Wing and eclyon battled for the safety of erda, the true home of the people. As a meteor hurtled down, merkais knew he had to protect the citizens on his honor as a knight of the lost kingdom. He destroyed a ship that was to help the meteor obliterate all life on erda. Yuro flew wing down to stop the other and destroyed it, nearly dying in the process. But he had a will to survive, to see that they truly had achieved peace, for a while, anyway. The gods never found a need for their angels again, and they gradually disappeared in the sands of time as their gods did.  
  
Quatre carefully clicked the tape recorder off. "So. that's what they say about us in the future. Or of Heero, rather."  
  
Tajima sighed. "Lyska could have done it better," she said regretfully. "And this was only the version people of the sect- 01 are told. A-" she stopped speaking.  
  
Duo blinked. "What?"  
  
Tajima said abruptly, "Nothing. I never said anything but that our Remebrancer[9] could have done better." She rose and left the room. In the hallway, her hand came up to wipe away the tear that had fallen and slid down her face.  
  
- - - - - - - - - -  
  
[1]- I have absolutely nothing against Duo, if anyone was wondering. Except that he shot Heero, that little- hehehe. mostly it's that Relena could have died. Relena could've died. But nooo- erhem, I'll shut up now.  
  
[2]- I had to mess around with the spelling of "Alliance". Hey, I think it looks cool!  
  
[3]- That's. Norse spelling, I think. Y'know, Vikings, Thor, Freya, that whole can o' worms.  
  
[4]- Yeah, I had to mess around with the names. "Yuro" is the "ro" of Heero and the "yu" off Yuy. Duh. "Xellod" is "xell" from Maxwell and I took off the "d" and "o" from Duo. Yeah, yeah, I admit it, I took a little bit from Slayers with the entire Xellos thing, but hey! I don't own that! "Atrow" is an anagram of Trowa. "Nerba" is a mix of the "ner" from Winner and the "ba" from Raberba. And "Fein" is simply the "fei" from Wufei and the "n" from Chang. Let's see, pronuciations. I think Yuro would be pretty easy, so I won't bother. Uh, "zell-load" for "Xellod". "Ah-trow" for "Atrow". Nerba is pretty easy too. and "Fein" would be like "pain" except with an "f" instead of a "p"  
  
[5]- Erda. I got this from The Book of Earth, so I don't own it, don't sue, yadda, yadda. It means "earth" I believe. Again, duh. That would be what they call good ol' earth in Tajima's time.  
  
[6]- Well, I couldn't use Waltz, since that would mean something made it through all those centuries, and then I'd have to abandon all my hard work of thinking up funky spellings and names. So there.  
  
[7]- Yeah, I decided that if the pilots were the gods, then the Gundams are the angels. Geez, that's like Angelic Layer. I DON'T OWN THAT EITHER!! DON'T SUE!!  
  
[8]- "Eclyon" and "Merkais". Obviously Epyon and Merquise seriously distorted by time.  
  
[9]- *sigh* Yes, Divine Guardian, you ought to recognize this. So should everyone who reads Garth Nix. It's from Lirael, and I just thought it fit, y'know, memory and remembrance. I also don't own that. Again, don't sue. Gee, you must all be getting tired of me saying that.  
  
Author's Note- Hmm, should I add humor in as another genre? And don't tell me, you're all like "Well, that's fine and dandy, but WHEN THE HELL'S THE ACTION AND ADVENTURE AND ROMANCE GONNA KICK IN!?" That sound familiar to you, Divine Guardian? Heh, it ought to. Oh yes, and my birthday was on May 30th. Let's have a little contest. Divine Guardian, you can't enter, you actually know me. And you still haven't gotten me a present, now have you? Okie, no asking Divine Guardian, that's not fair, alright? The question is: How old did I turn and what gender am I? The first prize is: you get to be written into the story with your favorite G-boy or G-girl! G-boys do not include Heero, okay? If you win, just send me a short description of yourself or how you'd like to be, a name, and the character. Consolation? Uh. you can just give me your e-mail and get a short little note about how grateful I am you actually cared enough to try! ^_^ Or not. the choice is yours. DAMN THAT WOMAN!! Oh, and just so I won't get wild crazy guesses like "as old as dirt" (that's my math teacher people, not me!) I'm between 10 and 50. Good luck!  
  
P.S.- If no one gets it right, I'll take the closest answer and proclaim that person the winner. If there's a tie, uhh. we'll cross that bridge when we get to it! Ja ne! . 


	5. Follow Your Heart, chapter 5

Follow Your Heart  
  
by  
YamiHikari  
  
Disclaimer- Too lazy to write one. the heat's REALLY getting to me, it's like 90 something here, and I don't like the heat! Look in the first couple chapters.  
  
Author's Note- Perhaps I should put a deadline on the contest. then again, I don't think people really care too much, so I'll just take whatever comes in, and if your answer comes in too late, too bad, so sorry, I cry, but it's over. Cry yourself a river, build yourself a bridge and get over it! Sorry, I saw that on a sticker at Canobie Lake Park and it was funny to me. and my friends, so. there, I'm not weird!  
  
- - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Snapping the book shut, Tajima briefly considered throwing through and out the window. She dismissed the idea as a result of the summer heat and annoyance at the endless etiquette for formal dinners and parties. She had traded in her dark one-strap tank top and long pants similar to jeans for shorts and a sleeveless tee-shirt.  
  
'I'm going soft,' she thought with some amusement. 'And I still haven't gotten to see if they're really the fighters they were supposed to be.'  
  
Each time she had asked to battle a pilot in a one-on-one fight, she had been politely turned down with some excuse. A faint scowl flickered across Tajima's face, then disappeared. Perhaps she should try again, she was healed and bored of her studies of manners.  
  
Rising close to soundlessly from her chair, Tajima went out to wander the halls. She wouldn't really have a choice on who she got to fight if they accepted her challenge, only Heero and Quatre were in the mansion, since the former had decided to stay rather than look for an apartment. Plus, he didn't seem to fancy the idea of looking for a job.  
  
Luck was with her today, and she encountered Heero within the first five minutes she had set out from her room.  
  
Heero's Prussian blue eyes glanced at her. 'Why would she be out here?' he wondered briefly, then stopped and leaned against the wall as she approached him. He didn't have to wait long for his answer.  
  
"Fight me."  
  
"What!?" His eyes widened and he jerked forward from his relaxed pose.  
  
"I know you heard me. You're not deaf."  
  
What astonishment he had shown when she had challenged him was now locked behind a mask of indifference. Instead of refusing her as they all had the first couple of times, he looked at her closely. Heero saw emotions flick across her face so quickly he had little time to identify them. Confidence, a steely determination, now a rising fury that he probably would not say yes with resignation mixed in with it.  
  
Tajima had just given up on him agreeing, he had hesitated too long, and she almost started to turn away when she heard, "Yes."  
  
Her feral smile that had fierce triumph blended in with it reminded Heero of a wolf, a wolf that had been kept in captivity too long and then finally released back into the wild. The only other thing he said, however, was, "Name your weapon."  
  
She retreated into her room for a minute, then came back out holding her armguards. "Let's see how good you are with a new one. Left or right?"  
  
"Does it matter?"  
  
"Probably not. Just hold out the arm you're most comfortable with."  
  
When he had set out his right arm, she snapped one on, then put the other onto her left, "Just to make things intresting."  
  
In a large room where they had cleared away all furniture and breakable items, Heero and Tajima faced each other from opposite walls.  
  
"Ready?" Heero asked, eyeing her cautiously.  
  
She grinned mirthlessly, the easy confidence of a predator shining through her mask of nonchalance. "Been ready all my life."  
  
A shadow of her self-assured smirk appeared briefly on his lips, then disappeared. He slid along the edge of the wall, wanting to test her reflexes and skill before he did anything else. But she attacked with a speed that took him completely by surprise. He barely had time to counter the blow and slice down with the dull, unpoisoned edge before she skipped nimbly out of range, then came at him again from another side. This time, he lunged back at her with the dull edge again, this time the blade connecting with the skin of her upper arm so hard that it split, and a stream of crimson began to flow down from the cut.  
  
She used one of the fingers on her right hand to wipe away the blood, then licked it off casually. "First blood," she announced with a gleam in her eye. "But will it be the last?"  
  
Heero didn't particularly like the look on her face. He was on his guard, ready, he believed, for what would come next. He wasn't.  
  
She spun, and landed a side-kick that left him gasping for the air no longer present in his lungs, then assailed him with a flurry of blows that seemed to be blurs that flashed once, moved out, then in again. His mind was spinning, not only from the breaths she did not allow him to take, but from the many pains that came with each contact of her hand on his body. He fought his way through the haze and slammed his own hand into her in an open-handed block that sent her flying a couple feet back.  
  
She skidded to a halt, and smiled, an odd light in her eyes. There was no recognition in them. "You are good. But," she swung her guarded arm back, "not good enough!"  
  
The sharp edge sunk into the wall not even a centimeter away from his neck. Metal pressed against the front of his throat, keeping him trapped against the wall. She drew it out and licked the fine line of bright, vivid red off the sharp edge. Smirking, she fingered it for a second, then drove the blade straight at his head, a blow meant to split bone and flesh.  
  
Heero straightened up, blood flowing freely from a deep gash on his left cheek. Considering the force behind it, he was lucky to be alive. Her eyes were now the fierce yellow of a wolf's, like liquid gold, like. pure, untainted, demonic fury that would know no bounds.  
  
Those uncanny eyes regarded him casually, almost scornfully. "Not just good, but very good. It's almost a shame to kill you, but you will die!"  
  
The entity that looked like Tajima and spoke with her voice and used her body to try and destroy whatever opposed it was not her, Heero knew that all her memories and her personality, everything that defined Tajima Ryuka was gone, forced into a place where they could not be recalled easily and perhaps not at all. And would she stop with his death? If he alone had to die, so be it, but he could not, would not let her kill more.  
  
He turned to face her, features calm and free of the fear that many have of Death. By the look of this one, he had stared it in the eye many times and each time, had come out alive. It really was a pity. He was the only one who had ever lasted this long.  
  
'I have to reawaken the memories. this has to work.'  
  
He moved forward swiftly and kissed her on the lips. As he withdrew, Heero felt a twinge of pain that had to be the poison from the blade. Fighting it down, he saw Tajima's body stiffen suddenly. She shuddered, then dropped to her hands and knees, gasping, then passed out, the golden fury draining out of her eyes as they closed.  
  
A dark fire seemed to be spreading through Heero's veins, but he ignored it and lifted Tajima carefully. He began walking back to her room, pain lashing out at him with every step he took. The fire had now turned into an inferno, a blaze of darkness that sought to paralyze and destroy.  
  
'Five more steps. just five.' he thought hazily, vision obscured by a veil of thin shadow.  
  
One. The pain! A furnace roaring, to swallow, to burn, to annihilate. Breathe. In. Out.  
  
Two. Agony! White-hot lances of pain, spreading. Breathe again. In. Out.  
  
Three. Torture. fading. Unbearable. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.  
  
Heero collapsed on the floor of Tajima's room, breath a rasping hiss of oxygen trying to force its way through almost closed airways. The darkness took him. The rivulets of blood had slowed, and were now flowing sluggishly, almost reluctantly.  
  
The copper tang of blood filled the air. "Unh."  
  
Tajima struggled out of a pool of murky shadows, mixed with glints of shining gold that strove to imprison and control her. Gray eyes opened again. What was. why was. What happened?!  
  
She tasted blood, smelled it. Grimacing, she sat up, limp arms falling off of her and onto the floor. Tajima swiftly turned, backing away from whatever was behind her. Her eyes widened with shock. "H-heero?!"  
  
Frowning slightly, she touched her arm where it was cut. "How did."  
  
Slowly, she began to remember some, and then comprehended. "No, no, no, you fool! You shouldn't have! I. shouldn't have forgotten..."  
  
Tajima shoved something out from under her bed, then dove towards the item, which proved to be a safe, hastily turning the combination. 'Please please open. please.' A click. She rummaged through it until she found that one thing she was looking for, that one small container that could be the deciding factor between Life and Death. Fingers trembling, she opened it, then applied it to the deep gash on Heero's face and the fine line of red on his throat.  
  
Nothing happened. He lay still, and she didn't know if he was breathing or not. Something was blurring her vision, and something that wasn't blood was streaming down her face, dropping onto his. Her breath came in ragged gasps. Tears, she remembered vaguely. Crying. That's what it was called, crying. Tajima's head dropped onto his chest.  
  
"You can't be dead," she whispered hoarsely, fiercely. "You're a god. you can't die. you aren't. you won't."  
  
Each denial was accented by a pounding of a fist against his ribcage, almost as if in a last-ditch effort to somehow make him breathe again.  
  
A hoarse cough. "Cut that out. If I'm not dead yet, then I will be."  
  
Her head snapped up. "You."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Bastard! Faker!" She pounded him again. "This was just for the attention, wasn't it!?" she demanded.  
  
"Are you just trying to make me forget that you're a berserker?" he inquired lightly. "Because I'm not going to forget that easily with this," Heero touched the score on his face.  
  
Averting her gaze slightly guiltily, she said softly, "I guess so. and. I'm. sorry. I tried to forget about it, and. I did. I nearly killed you too."  
  
His blue eyes regarded her thoughtfully. "What are you hiding from?" he asked softly. "Your past? What you did? Or," he caught her face gently in his hands, "this?"  
  
He kissed her again, slower this time, and when he broke it off, she was staring at him. "Why-?"  
  
She was interrupted by a light knock at the door that caused her to hastily remove the armguards from both their arms and herself from Heero's vicinity. Quatre poked his head in, taking in all the information, Heero with that emotionless look on his face and Tajima standing up after shoving the safe under the bed. "Hey, dinner's ready. Was I interrupting anything?" he added with an almost unbearably smug look on his face.  
  
"No!" they exclaimed together, then glanced at each other, then away, Tajima flushing, Heero just. well, being Heero.  
  
"Really." Quatre did not look convinced. "Well, if you want anything to eat, you should come down." He withdrew and began heading downstairs.  
  
Pointedly ignoring Heero, Tajima followed him. After brushing away the dried blood on his face, the Japanese pilot of Wing Gundam Zero rose, exited the room, shut the door and descended the stairs after them both.  
  
- - - - - - - - - -  
  
Author's Note- Okay, okay, I admit it, I drew quite a bit on The Blue Sword by Robin Mckinley with that whole yellow eyes bit, though slightly changed and Midnight Predator by Amelia Atwater Rhodes again for the second kiss. *sigh* No, I don't own either of those ideas, need I even have bothered to say that? Oh, and haha, Quatre's got an attitude! LOL, you probably wouldn't have expected that from him, now would'ya? Would'ya? *getting stared at* . ah well, ja ne! 


	6. Follow Your Heart, chapter 6

Follow Your Heart  
  
by  
  
YamiHikari  
  
Disclaimer- *sigh* I don't own Gundam Wing or its characters, happy now? Oh, but Tajima Ryuka is my original character, so there will be hell to pay if you use her without asking and getting permission.  
  
Author's Note- Hmm, since only LorimLowe2 has submitted to my contest, I think that they're gonna win, since no one else has. Let's just wait a couple more days... months... decades. -_-;; ... Oh, and people, read the Author's Notes at the ends of the chapters, pleeeaaaase! I put some news in there, so it's worth reading, okies? Arigato.  
  
- - - - - - - - - -  
  
Ever since it had been reawakened, the beast would not be subdued. Its call, shrill, and somehow conveying the last, rattling breath of a dying man within it, tore through her mind again and again, echoing, until she wanted to scream, to drown that sound out. Anything to keep it out of her mind.  
  
Tajima Ryuka could not sleep for that sound, and it still reached out golden strands, which were far stronger than they seemed, to cage her humanity and control her again.  
  
  
  
She couldn't give in. She'd nearly broken her promise once already, and could not, would not, let it happen again. How low had she fallen, to let her past training slip away in less than half a year?  
  
Almost unconsciously, her hand had reached up to the side of her neck, and one finger slid slowly down it, then stopped and recoiled as if from a burning ember at the first of the two small, almost invisible, circular scars, about 2.5 inches away from each other.   
  
The sound crescendoed to an unearthly howl that was never meant for humans to experience. Biting the inside of her cheek to keep from crying out, the metallic tang of blood quickly filled her mouth. The strands had formed into a noose around her neck and were drawing tighted. She fought to keep it from happening, but she was loosing. The gray of her eyes began to mingle with fiery gold.  
  
A light knock on the door dissolved the noose, and Tajima could breathe again. The knob on the oak door twisted; brass, thank God it was brass, and not gold. She could live for the rest of her life without seeing that color again and be relatively happy. Quatre looked in.  
  
She glanced at him, then away. It hadn't all gone at the sound of that knock.  
  
Letting himself in, Quatre quietly closed the door behind him. It still shut with a "click" that seemed like it would echo forlornly throughout the mansion. The room returned to its silence, and seemed abnormally empty after the sound.  
  
Tajima still stared fixedly out the window, out at the gray world beyond. If it was raining already, it would soon.   
  
"Well?"  
  
The word shattered the silence, that one word spoken in a voice completely devoid of any emotion whatsoever. It seemed more dead than alive, and was unnerving. The head of the Winner household tried to make the best of it.  
  
"'Well' what?"  
  
Again, there was that dead voice. "You came here for something. What?"  
  
Even with what seemed like permission to speak and abolish the silence for the time being, he still hesitated. Maybe it was a little too personal. He changed his mind and instead asked, "Is everything okay? Did anything happen?"  
  
As Quatre spoke, he moved halfway across the room and sat on the bed. Her profile was lit by the somewhat distorted light that managed to get through the rain. It twisted into disgusted, self-hating grimace.   
  
"Sure, everything's fine," she replied scathingly. "Everyone I knew and who appreciated me is gone because of my mistakes. I mess up a suicide - how the hell do you do that anyway? Screw up killing yourself- and come here. Next, I nearly kill you, another suicide attempt failed, I nearly kill one of your friends, and what more, I nearly break a promise to one of the people who- to someone who's dead because of me. I'm fine, thank you, how was your damn life?"  
  
Suddenly, unexpectedly, Quatre's temper flared in return, and he answered fire with fire. "It was fine as well, thank you for asking. My mother died when I was born, I disappoint my father by fighting for something he believes in, and the very people I fight to protect turn against me. My sister and father die because of me, and I killed innocents and very nearly Trowa, for no other reason that they were in my way. Just because I fight for peace doesn't mean I'm a pampered, naive brat who doesn't know what the real world is like!"  
  
Now Tajima had turned to face him. Closing his eyes and taking a couple deep breaths, he apologized.   
  
"I'm sorry. It's just... I don't think I ever got over... how much blood is on my hands."  
  
He opened his eyes. She had turned back to the window, face expressionless again.  
  
"Most of the ones I dispose of don't bleed, so they take blood from others and are the ones with blood on their hands. Though I may have some sort of stain on my soul, I am not yet sorry for being the cause of their demise."  
  
They both were silent for a few more minutes. Then Quatre stood, and made his way back to the door. He paused, and looked back, hand on the doorknob.  
  
"You know... if you ever get lonely and... and decide that you want one... I'll be your friend[1]."  
  
He twisted the knob, and went out the door, shutting it behind him.   
  
She turned in her seat and stared at the closed door. Turning back to watch the raindrops splatter themselves against the window and slide down, she shut her eyes that were mirrors of the sky above.  
  
"'Friend', huh?"  
  
  
  
- - - - - - - - - -  
  
[1]- "I'll Be Your Friend" is one of the songs that Quatre's seiyuu, Ai Orikasa, sings for the second Gundam Wing soundtrack.  
  
Author's Note - Short chapter. But it's still worth reading, right? Right? Right. I had to get something up, or my conscience would never forgive me. Oh, and I'm doing a rewrite of the previous chapters, except that I'll be posting it seperately and seeing which one people like better, so don't be expecting any new chapters soon. Like, say, for a month. Or two. Or three... *sigh* oh well, ja! 


End file.
